The Faculties of Reality
Prologue: Eternal Rivals A kunai flung from the bushes, urging the young teen to propell himself backwards as it hit a tree. Clad in only white shorts, a white long-sleeved shirt as well as an onyx jacket. Finishing off his attire was his blade sheathed in his left, near his waist. His short black hair, however, was his defining feature. Along with his light skin, it was crystal clear that the man in question was none other than the younger son of the human torch: Namazu Uchiha. He stood in a stance fit for combat. Sideways with his left side forward towards the impending threat. His left hand taunted his opponent to come closer, and come closer he did. Appearing from the bushes was none other than the renowned Thunderbolt of the Leaf: Senkai. Adorned in a black leather jacket with a grey undershirt tucked into his black pants, which reached up to his calf. From his calf down to his feet were black sandals worn by his very own ancestor. A black sash stretching from his left shoulder and accross his waist was visible from closer inspection, containing scrolls that held all his weapons. All but his special ones, which had their own toolkit. Approaching his adversary, his body began to feel an incredible surge of power. Opening the third lobe, his power was astounding. Namazu instinctively reacted, activating his own power. He emitted a radiating green aura around him. Skipping the first three gates, he activated his fourth, looking at his friend with a smug visible in his countenance. “So, today I'm gonna have to break your face, Namazu?” Senkai rhetorically asked, smiling whilst his gaze remained on his friend. The tip of Namazu's lips parted even further, encompassing a vile smile. “Eleven to ten, Senkai. And you've never beaten me when it came to taijutsu, not counting your flashy maneouvres. Today, I'm gonna even the odds, and kick your ass like I always do!” retorted Namazu, before disappearing into thin air. Senkai did nothing, except raise his left hand sideways up to his face, his palm facing his side. Surely enough, Namazu had flickered behind him with a powerful left-footed roundhouse kick, which went straight towards the palm, blocked off as if it was nothing. Namazu flickered once more, appearing above infront of Senkai at speeds which would be deemed impossible to track through normal standards. Aiming for his left shoulder-blade, his efforts were once again in vain as Senkai merely lowered, not his arms, but his palm to face upwards, blocking the kick with minimal effort. Surely enough, Namazu would appear behind his rival, aiming for a powerful punch, which connected, sending his friend reeling towards a tree in a horizontal fashion, where the sheer force of the attack broke the tree. However, upon closer inspection, Namazu saw that it was merely a log. “Dammit!” he groaned, as the thunderbolt was leaning his hand atop a tree a few metres away, standing on a branch. “You have become predictable, Red.” the young man mused, a sly grin encompassing his countenance. It was what his friend before him hated more than anything else: pure, profound arrogance, and Namazu was ticked off. Surely enough, the Uchiha flickered from view, appearing before Senkai with a kick, which Senkai avoided by jumping away. In mid-air, Senkai seemed vulnerable as Namazu landed on the branch he was in just a second ago. He leaped towards the 'vulnerable' Senkai, who disappeared, appearing behind him through the mark he placed on the tree and ready to launch a surprise attack. However, before he could even attack, Namazu's foot instinctively twisted back, hitting Senkai and sending him reeling towards the ground, causing a crater in the process. “That tree routine is kinda getting old, Senkai. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice? Hell no!” Namazu yelled with vigor, a smile evident in his visage. Senkai brushed himself off, gratefully, his durability was increased to another level in his current state, and he only got small fractures in his pelvis. “I must be losing my edge...” thought the brown-haired man, looking towards his friend. The same arrogant smile Senkai encompassed before was now on Namazu's countenance, indicating on how the tides of the battle had changed. However, Namazu just smiled, looking towards his friend, before his lips parted. “Now... Are we done with the warm ups.” “As impulsive as ever, huh?” mused Senkai, lowering his sleeves. “He's got the advantage with that Lobe thing. His perception is far greater and he is able to react faster... I know what I must do.” Namazu spoke, his eyes transforming into the Sharingan. His calve tensed, and so did Senkai. With a flicker faster than what the human eye can ever hope to percieve, both boys disappeared, appearing before each other with right fists towards each other, blocked by the left palm by both. It was a stalemate, but the young teenagers were unwavering. Namazu removed his grasp and his fist, quickly performing a swift spinning sweep-kick to Senkai's feet, whom jumped up and raised his right leg to gain momentum, only to send it down on the ground a moment later, clashing with Namazu's arm. The boys jumped back to gain space from each other, before both performed handseals. “Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!” the words echoed in the minds of both boys, who expelled massive orbs of flames towards each other, their eyes narrowing at each other with not a single sound or sight hindering their focus. The golden orbs of fire clashed, and the end-result was a pure calamity of golden flames exploding around them, causing a small blinding light. Namazu decided to capitalize on the intense flames, flickering towards Senkai right through the fire. However, Senkai had thought of the same thing. Their legs would clash in the middle as the forest started to burn, each blocking each other's spinning kick with the same manouvre. Upon landing, both shinobi leaped backwards. Quickly acting to cease the destruction, Senkai conjured a corporeal clone, leaving it behind as he went to engage his best friend in battle. Meanwhile, his doppelganger inhaled deeply, exhaling a massive quantity of water towards the starting forest fire, extinguishing it with minimal effort before dispersing. The vapour filled the area, along with the drenched wet surface. The Uchiha's eyes were alert, as Senkai's chakra was now literally everywhere. Out of the blue, the brown-haired ninja emerged from the vapour, jumping face-first towards the ground. However, his arms stretched downwards and his palms landed first, before he began to twist his feet in a propeller fashion, launching unorthodox kicking maneouvres. Namazu, however, was unfazed. Blessed with the potent eyes, the Uchiha were naturally gifted to adapt to any form of taijutsu, reading an opponent's incoming attack through the slightest movement of their joints and muscles, granting him an image before they do it. Each kick, Namazu dodged with ease, ducking down, flipping and finally jumping backwards. Senkai jumped to his feet, taking a fighting stance once more. “Still a nimble rat, I see.” the brown haired man taunted the young Uchiha. Namazu just smiled and gazed into the vapor, and he entered the fith gate. Flickering into thin air, Namazu appeared before Senkai, whom, with his third lobe active, had enhanced precognitive abilities. For a moment, both boys launched their attacks at full power, aimed hitting each other's face. However, once again, both blocked each other with their free hands, before leaping backwards. “Okay... I think that's enough, since we already got ourselves an intruder!” yelled Namazu, pointing out at the forest afar. From the bushes a few metres away, emerged a beautiful teen, with pink hair and a black hair accent on her left, walking towards the duo. Adorned in a blue that reached to his calf, underneath being a black, short-sleeved body suit, stretching down to his thighs. In his feet, were black knee-length shinobi combat boots. His appearance said it all, she was none other than the beautiful Tsukihime Uchiha, cousin to Namazu. “Uh.. Hey guys” she asked, gravely trying to hide the embarassing state she was in. “Were you watching us, Tsukihime?” Senkai questioned, he too felt butterflies in his stomach. “Uh... It's... It's the Hokage. He wants to see us three. I felt your chakra signatures here, so... You know...” she spoke with a false sense of confidence, only to be broken by Namazu. “So you decided to stalk us instead of telling us immediately?!” he asked rhetorically, a smug grin creeping on his visage. “Err... Let's just go!” she yelled, before a puff of smoke commenced, and she was gone. Namazu's eyes shifted to gaze at Senkai, his smile getting even wider as he began to deactivate his eight gates, with Senkai doing the same with his own technique. “Grr... Whatever, I'm out. Hope you can body flick in excruciating pain...” Senkai rhetorted, before he too disappeared... “What a cute couple...” Namazu mused, before he remembered Senkai's last words. He had begun to remember the strain opening the eight gates put at the body, and what he felt when he walked was a far cry from painful. Tears ran from his face, but he still disappeared. ---- The Hokage Residence The three shinobi appeared before Hokage from out of nowhere. Literally. From the Hokage's right, stood Senkai, with Tsukihime in the middle, and Namazu in the left. Looking towards their Hokage without any discernible facial expressions. “Good. You are all here.” Naruto spoke, his elbows were at his desk, as his hands were clasped. Dressed in his usual orange jumpsuit as well as the Hokage's hat, Naruto glared at the team before him. “We received a distress call from the ... Their citizens keep on vanishing without a trace... And we have reason to believe that Orochimaru is on the scene with his experimentations. Go and investigate. If you sink too deep, do not hesitate to call for backup. Here is any other information concerning this mystery...” he spoke as he stretched his arm forward, giving the team the scroll containing the information. Senkai stepped forward, taking the scroll and adding it to his sash, before stepping backwards. “Senkai will lead you for now... Any further questions?” Naruto asked, and Namazu quickly raised his hand, dissatisfaction encompassing his facial expression. “Why should he be our leader?! We've all evolved into jounin level... Why can't I lead!!? Or let's go as equals...” he spoke, before Naruto chuckled. The answer was quite simply, Senkai was the smartest and most experienced of the trio, as he had exposed himself to the cruel work of a shinobi very early in his life. His shrewd and cunning nature always allowed him to get the job done efficiently, yet the Hokage chose to lie. “Because I said so, Namazu...” he spoke, smiling. “Hm.. Like father, like son...” Naruto pondered, reminiscing of the human torch himself and the similarities shared by his son. “Unless you have any other questions, you may go...” he responded. Upon his request, the trio began to flicker one-by-one, disappearing without a trace. Namazu started first, then Tsukihime, then lastly, Senkai. Their adventure to the land of waves had just begun! Chapter One: An Evil Emerges Darkness filled the area in an endless canvas. A small light crept from above, illuminating a small space of the immense dark room. From this light, appeared a horrid masked figure, as if from nowhere. The mask, in it's forehead, had a red circle covering it. Besides the silver mask that concealed his visage, the man seemed to be clad in a long, black coat stretching to the calf, tied around his waist with a black ribbon. His feet were adorned by black full boots, contrast to the typical open-toed style. “Sir... We've received intel that there has been a distress call sent by the Land of Waves to Konoha, and two of the shinobi sent here are the ones you wanted... They have left Konoha a while ago so they will probably arrive in a few hours.” one of them appeared from the dark, speaking in an ominous, yet respectfull tone. The only part of his body that appeared was only his head, as the other remained in the dark. This man's entire head was obscured by a full black mask, with two goggles as eyes in the front, giving the smallest of evidence that a human existed beneath. “Excellent.” his masked superior mused, his arms folded behind him as he stood, watching the small opening that had light from above his 'lair'. Taking a few steps, he disappeared from existence. From atop a mountain, the man flickered once more, his hands still behind his back. Two masked subordinates flickered behind him, kneeling with one knee before their leader. He looked towards the small town where the team was set to arrive. “I do not want any interruptions when I face my future sources of knowledge and power. Kill them. Kill them all...” he spoke ominously, his tone filled with emptiness, and no remorse what-so-ever. They nodded, before disappearing without a trace. ---- The Land of Waves On the outskirts of the land, the two masked figures ran silently towards the village, clad in a full, long-sleeved, black body suit from the neck to the calf. Black gloves and boots hid their hands and feet respectively, leaving no view of the true human beings that were beneath. The duo were well disciplined, and only ran forward, not uttering a single word to even each other. Arriving at the town, the duo looked surprise at the loud silence that bathed it. It seemed absolutely empty and devoid of citizens. One of them, shocked, finally uttered a word. “Th-... Th... This can't be..!” he spoke, before a powerful kick hit them simultaneously, sending them flying. The sounds of the crash echoed in the area, as both hit large trees, rupturing and cracking them. However, they remained unscathed, yet still suprised and dumbfounded. “What the--” “Surprise pipsqueaks..!!” yelled Namazu as he emerged from the shadows, with Tsukihime appearing in a position just parallel to him. The man who kicked them, now upside down, was none other than the Thunderbolt of Konoha. Propelling himself up using his hands, he landed gracefully on his feet. Bearing a smug grin on his face, he addressed the masked bandits, “Are you pleased to see us?” The masked duo kept quiet, not uttering a single word. Immediately, they grasped their back, unsheathing a sword made of, not metal, but their own bones. Senkai smiled, before reaching both hands into his small toolkit. The two bandits flickered, appearing besides Senkai with a powerful simultaneous swing of their blades. In an instant, they were blocked, as Senkai's arms were raised in the last minute. His entire being did not alter position in the slightest, with the arms making the only movement. When the two bandits looked closer, they saw the blades blocked by a mere kunai. However, this kunai was different, bearing a single blade along with two smaller ones on the side. The duo took advantage of Senkai's occupied state, as spikes potruded from their very beings. From their stomachs, bones emerged to slash Senkai, piercing through him with minimal effort in an instant. The others gasped, before a small puff of smoke, revealing him to be nothing more than a scarecrow with kunai on it's hands, put their worries to rest. The young man appeared atop a tree a few metres away, his arms folded with a smile still on his countenance “He's a tricky one, Let's give them our full power....” one of the man noted, before they formed handseals. Ice formed around them. Blue ice... Strange. Namazu and Tsukihime's crimson eyes formed, and they took a step back, forming a tiger handseal. “Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.” they yelled in unison, before expelling two massive orbs of roaring golden flames towards the target. The orbs engulfed anything that stood in their path, ravaging it into it's golden majesty. The flames savagely attacked the blue ice with all their might and glory, before dissipating into nothingness. The ice however, was still unscathed, much to their horror... Senkai leaped forward, forming a ram handseal whilst in mid-air. Upon inhaling, Senkai's eyes looked towards the objects with scrutiny, narrowing as if he was staring into a soul. Opening his mouth slightly, a massive fist of azure water was formed, charging towards the two masked men with a powerful punch. One of the men formed a ram handseal, and a crystalline wall was formed before them, taking in the full brunt of the punch. On impact, the sheer force of the flames was so intense, that the ground shook, tripping one of the men in the process. However, much to the trio's shock, the wall was still intact. Unscathed. One of Senkai's strongest techniques, all in vain. The masked man chuckled, before he charged towards Senkai. “Time to teach you a lesson you will never forget, little brat...” he spewed the words like venom, leaping to the tree Senkai was in and forming a handseal. Senkai's eyes narrowed, and he looked at the incoming man without any response whatsoever. The masked man formed a crystal blade, his arms parallel to himself, before he swung it fiercely towards Senkai. The brown-haired young man, however, merely jumped above him, his right hand landing in the masked man's shoulders. Before he could move any further, Senkai's eyes widened in surprise. Looking down on his hand, a bone had pierced right through the middle, just a few inches away from Senkai's face. Before the bone could continue to slash him, however, he disappeared, appearing another tree away. His right hand now began to bleed heavily, and the pain he felt was beyond excruciating. “Gr.. Ah... He got me...” he spoke in between the groans of agony, looking forth towards the masked man. “Senkai, are you okay?” Tsukihime asked, the worry evident in his tone. “I'll... I'll be fine... You two just take care of the other one!” he responded, using his remaining hand to slowly heal his right one. His guard, however, remained on the man before him. Meanwhile, the two Uchiha averted their gaze at the second of the elite masked vigilante, and they did not waste time. Namazu opened three of his chakra gates, garnering impressive speed, which would be incredibly difficult to keep track of. Tsukihime's entire being was overwhelmed by an intense amount of electricity, and few could be able to discern her to be the transformation she was in. In a blink of an eye, the duo flickered out of the man's line of sight. Namazu appeared behind the man, which the latter quickly responded by a turning kick, sending Namazu flying. However, the man soon felt an incredible surge of electricity thrusted into his abdomen, cracking and piercing the tough bones. Turning around, Tsukihime stood smiling. However, the duo was not finished. As his focus remained shifted on him, a powerful kick sent the man upwards high into the air, before he plummeted down into the ground. “How the?...” the man asked, flabbergasted and dumbfounded by the offensive manouvre. “Misdirection... Something that runs in the family.” Namazu smiled as he addressed his opponent, reminiscing of his spars with his own father. The man, however, was still unfazed, and he charged towards them once more. The main aimed to kick Namazu's temple, which the young man evaded with relative ease. The man continued to jump up to get away from Namazu, not knowing that the young purple-eyed Uchiha was just behind him. A smile crept on Namazu's visage as the man before him was quickly hit towards the ground before he even noticed Namazu's existence. The man plummeted towards the ground, but Tsukihime was right below, plunging an intense surge of lightning in his hands whilst his appearance was that of a fierce warrior. “Lightning Cutter!!” she yelled with pride, plunging it towards the foe with the intention of piercing through the heart. The foe crystallized the small air before him to form yet another shield, which, shockingly, was easily pierced by the attack. The electric attack plunged into the man's chest, leaving his rib-cage open and piercing through the bones. The attack stopped as the crack destroyed the rib-cage into small particles, falling an inch short into killing the man. Chapter Two: The Encounter Chapter Three: Desperate Measures Chapter Four: The Cat and Mouse Game Chapter Five: Endgame